Fabric blowout

So far this year I have done 3 craft fairs that have made me a wee bit of money. After each my mum took the takings and put them into a wee purse (only once giving me table money!) and she said she was going to keep that money in case I ever needed a big outlay for fabric, wadding or backing.

Then it transpired she was actually saving the money so I could have a nice trip to a fabric factory shop (http://www.standfast-barracks.com/aboutus.html) that we both knew about approx 5 mins away from my sister in Lancaster. Last week I went to visit my sister for a wee holiday and this shop was first on my list of things to do. When the day came around to go to it I got really apprehensive that I wouldnt like it, I wouldnt get anything or it wouldnt be as cheap as I thought.... boy I was wrong.

These pieces of material are nice and thick and soft so going to use them as backing for blankets/floormats.
First two pictures here was £2.50 a metre and I got 2m of the green and grey and 1.75m of the red






This material is so soft and I took what was left on the roll (3.5m) at £1 a metre.



This is a gorgeous baby fabric wtih jungle scenes. £5 for the bundle, it has 2.75m in it.



I love this hot pink print. I bought it with intention of making a bag for a friend of my sisters who wanted a pink bag that no-one else would have but she liked another fabric I showed her. £3.50 for the bundle with 1.75m.



This there was absolutely no way I could resist. I havent been able to find any camouflage material anywhere up here and my mind started racing with ideas of messenger bags and kids clothing. An absolute steal at £1 A METRE! So I got 5 of each (they also had the desert storm kinda colour)



Next, were these items called Large fents. Typically between 3/4m and a metre and were only 80p each. Love it and one of those are actually silk!



Then small fents. Probably about half a metre each (2 black ones at top are more like a metre) - 45p each





I also go these beautiful liberty prints most of which are about a 1/4 metre and will look great for lining bags/clutches. Might also use one of them to make a camera case. - a stunning 35p each



And this gorgeous pack of silks. 3 pieces each either a fat quarter or 1/4m - £1.50 for the three.



Finally I got this bundle of sample size approx 1/4m fabrics, of which there were 18 for a measly £2.50 and all because I saw the fabric pictured seperately poking out the side and had to get it!





And for those who cant be bothered counting all this up I got ALL of this material for the princely sum of £47.95. Now I need to get sewing, eek!

2 tops for Emily (age 10) - #13, 14

I have been experimenting a lot with my sewing. Pushing my boundaries so to speak. I remember as little as 12 months ago declaring that I would never ever make clothes as I didnt have the patience for shaping etc. Well at Christmas I pushed myself a little and made two very basic skirts for my neice.

Now, she is the subject of my attempts at branching out once again except this time I made her some tops. The good thing is tho that she is only 10 so doesnt have much of a shape to have to fit to.

I have to say I actually really enjoyed making these and the response that I got was amazing and makes me want to try more.


First up (although I actually made this second) is this beautiful shirred top with ribbon tie straps. I saw this material at the SECC craft fair and I fell in love and just had to have it. I knew straight away as well that I would shirr it and make it into a nice little top. I have to say that this was my first attempt ever at shirring. It can be a bit boring but does give a nice effect.









This top I first made in the original size it was intended (18-24m) for Vonnie's little girl Erica. I used this pattern from JCaroline Creative I then scaled the pattern up to fit my neices measurements. The fabric I got from Etsy in a destash sale and I just love it! When it came round to making this top I came across this fabric again and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it.

I do have to make a few small alterations on it as I think she has taken a growth spurt since I measured her. I need to put a frill on the bottom to lengthen it and move the buttons out a bit to give her more room (to breathe! hence why she has her arms up in one of the pictures as that was the only way she could breathe!)

She and her mother absolutely adored these two tops so I think I can see that as a positive. Means I need to find more cool things to make her! :-p

Venturing into the unknown - #10, 11, 12

Ages ago, I would pick up crafting bits here and there, whenever I saw a bargain. This led to me building up a collection of jewellery making items, that, being quite honest I had NO idea how to put together and use. So I sold it all on as a job lot.

Then one day when flicking through Thriftstoreuk on Livejournal a girl was selling beading packs that had some beads, findings and charms in it. I couldnt resist partly because at one of the craft fairs I do regularly I always end up sitting next to a wonderful lady called Anne who makes jewellery and Id been watching her at her table if she was making things (mainly because I was genuinely interested in how jewellery is made).

So i took the plunge and bought it and I borrowed Vonnie's beading pliers and away I went. Well, I really didnt thinking jewellery making would be something I would enjoy but I was soooo wrong and these pieces came together really rather quickly.

First off a penguin charm bracelet (I have no idea who this is for so if you want it feel free to leave me a comment :-p):




Then I made this bracelet for my neice, Emily Janes christmas. Which of the charms is your favourite, mine is the masquerade mask :-D :



And finally I made this set for myself. I bought the sewing machine charms from the same girl, I really love them.

Garden Swap

After the success of the last swap I took part in I signed up to another swap, this time run by the lovely Kerry of Pennydog Accessories .

The rules were as follows:

You must make one handmade item in a garden theme, this can be something for the garden, or something with a gardeny theme- insects, flowers, etc.

An item of a crafty nature that your swap partner can use in their own crafting- fabric, buttons, stickers, etc

An edible treat- chocolate, cake, etc

I, as is becoming increasingly normal, forgot to take pictures of the package I sent to Amy in America. Hopefully she will post about it on her BLOG. If she does I will post to send you over there to check them out.

Amy sent me a wonderfully FULL parcel and everything was so beautifully packaged. First of all a lovely photobook that I can add my own pictures onto along with some coasters and a magnetic corkboard for putting messages or notes on.




Card, notebook, incense sticks and the little felt flower buttons that she used to wrap the items. Amy also sent me a lovely vase wrapped in some gingham cotton, some plant markers and some seeds which my mum "ooooeedd" over.


I hope she enjoys her part of the swap. Thanks Kerry for organising all this!

Ellie's Birthday top : #9

As soon as I saw this pattern for a cute spring top on Sew Mama Sew I knew I had to try it out. Mainly because instead of using a pattern to trace round that only goes up to a size 14 or 16 it simply gave you a formula of how to make the top exactly to your specification. Given that Im a larger sized lady this works out well for me.

However, I also knew pretty much straight away that I wanted to make one of these tops for my sister for her birthday. My sister has an awesome figure so I knew the shape and style of the top would flatter her to no end. Add to that, I had been given a length of silky material for a Secret Santa gift, that I thought would look gorgeous as a top and I had just been waiting for the right project to use it.

I have to say that this pattern is really straight forward and it comes together in a few hours (probably less but I am really easily distracted). There are also some options built into the pattern meaning that you can create a few of these for your wardrobe and they can look different (pockets, sleeve ruffles, shaping).

Here is the one I made for Ellie:





I also made myself a pink leopard print one and have just cut out all the bits for making a blue skull and crossbones one. I will post them as soon I have pictures of them, but I will warn u....they might not be pretty. :-p